Wales
Llanfwrog
Porthcawl
Conwy Barmouth
BenllechBay
Bennllech
Powys
Caenarfon Trearddur
Bay
PENRHYN BAY CARAVAN PARK,
Llanfwrog,
Anglesey.
The site was chosen at random from "The Big Site
Book" as a base camp for our trip over to Ireland on the £10 day
trip for foot passengers on the new HSS fast ferry Holyhead to Dun Laghoire.
An extremely quiet site that is ideal for those who don't like to be
disturbed. A very clean site, that is open to the elements and being
by the sea it does get quiet windy at times. Another camper who visits
regularly told us he had seen other campers chasing their tents across
the site on a previous visit so be careful where you pitch. There are
some hedges to act as wind breaks.
The shop has a very limited stock and closes quite early in the evening.
There is a small indoor heated swimming pool. On the weekend we went,
they had put too much chlorine in the water so we weren't in there long.
There is also a small outdoor playground on which the kids soon got
bored.
Personally, apart from it's peace and tranquillity attribute which I
do find appealing, I did not like this site at all, and neither did
the kids. They found it boring.
In essence we were glad to get away.
I can't finish this review without mentioning the adjacent site. THE
SANDY BEACH CAMPING SITE. It's in the "Big Book" on the same
page. The site looked much better and the residents more friendly. We
were told it's not uncommon to have Bar-Be-Cues on the beach most weekends
in the summer. A few of the campers/caravaners we spoke to said they
had been going there for years. And on that we have always said should
we want to go camping in that location again then we would go to SANDY
BEACH.
Oh by the way, for the Birdwatchers amongst you, this site is not far
away from the RSPB site at South Stack and well worth a visit. I saw
my first Peregrine Falcon PERCHING in the edge of the cliffs, along
with my first "Choughs" and "Stonechats" there.
And before anybody even thinks it. I AM NOT A TWITCHER. That only happens
when the wife gets near my wallet.
Sent in by Kevin Blackburn
Back to Top
Happy Valley
Caravan Park,
Wigfach,
Porthcawl,
Bridgend
CF32 0NG
Map Ref. 170/849784
Tel. 01656 782144
This site is about a mile off the main Cardiff – Swansea
road ( A48 ) on the A4106. It is adjacent to a LH turnoff signposted
‘Wigfach’. It caters for both caravans and tents, some electric hookups
are available.
On site there is a small play area for children, with a couple of swings
and a climbing frame. Toilet/showers are in both ‘portacabin’ and fixed
buildings. Showers are free, but hours are restricted to before eleven
or after four. Hot water is also limited – probably on a timeclock.
There appeared to be no special facilities for the disabled. There is
no general store on site, but a small shop is available on an adjacent
caravan park, as is a fish and chip shop, club and disco – about 400
yards walk down the lane. Porthcawl has a supermarket.
The beach is about three quarters of a mile from the site, down the
road for a quarter mile, then down a fairly steep path, and over some
dunes for the rest. It can be quite tiring with young children and a
pushchair/pram, as the path off the road is sandy. There are no toilet
facilities/lifeguards on this part of the beach – these are only available
nearer Porthcawl town centre itself.( about a mile and a half along
the beach )
We last visited this site about eight years ago, and saw few improvements
– there are no washing up facilities, the laundry room has two washer/driers
but no iron is provided – bring your own. The toilets have no lights
after dark, and we saw no paper in them either – though this may have
been taken.
Similarly, rubbish is all put in heaps at points around the site, but
not cleared on a daily basis.
We may use this site in the future, but only if absolutely necessary.
Sent in by Dave Weaver
Conwy touring park,
Conwy.
north wales,
LL32 8UX.
01492 592856
The park is absolutely fantastic. unlike other parks where you have
enough room for only caravan, tent etc, and everyone is camped on top
of each other like custers last stand, the pitches are well proportioned
loads of room to the point that you feel uncramped. it has some of the
best scenery that i have ever seen and is only 1 and a half miles from
the town.
facilities are excellent as well with laundry, shop (small good for
bits only) free ice pack freezing, excellent showers, you may only enter
through card operated barriers. They have a small pub only for the use
of guests, and a choice of amped electricity and the prices are vary
reasonable giving discounts the longer you stay.
Sent in By davewilfwilliams@yahoo.com
Back to Top
Hendre Mynach Camping & Caravan Site
Barmouth
North Wales
Privately owned.
One of those sites where there is not much to fault.
Location: On main road heading out of Barmouth towards Harlech (steep
hill down)
General view:
A well managed site which is very clean and tidy with excellent facilities.
The site is quite large and partly elevated for campers. Plenty of hook
up sites for caravans. View is overlooking the sea, although a railway
line and housing estate spoils that a bit if you are at sea level with
caravans. Facilities are clean showers/toilets etc. Plenty of water
points, great shop stocking most things open late. Small cafe on site
serving take away breakfasts too, childrens playground, courtesy bus
to local pub (packed in height of season) but great for kids, outdoor
play area and live entertainment. Field to run dogs in.
Generally a high level of discipline operates on site by the owners,
which makes it work well and maintain high standards. Well worth staying
you will enjoy it.
Sent in by Ray Williams
Plas Uchaf Caravan & Camping Park
Benllech Bay
Anglesy
North Wales
A small but well spaced out site. Well drained, we visited the site
Easter 2000 and serious downpours did not flood the site anywhere.
The site is on the b5108 leaving Benllech, on the right sign-posted.
caution' the access road does get a bit narrow in places, but there
are passing places 'en route'.
The nearby beach is a must to visit, plenty of room to park, and away
from the maddening crowd.
Sent in by Alan Batty
Ysgubor Fadog site near Bennllech on Anglesey
Just returned from Ysgubor Fadog site nesr Bennllech on Anglesey, a
quiet site with clean showers and toilets, rained all week but plenty
to do around Bennllech. Plenty of 'car boots'within a couple of miles.
Turn left in the centre of Bennllech and go for about
3 miles.At the Blue 'Glan Gors' sign turn left, up the lane 300 yards.
Also golf course up the road.open to anyone.
Sent in by Ken Alley
New House Farm
Bryngwyn
Rhosgoch
Builth Wells
Powys
Tel:01497 851 671
This is a real find. Only a small site but free hot shower and the
other facilities were great for such a a small site.We had great fun
using the duck race course,adults as well!.(Borrowed plastic ducks from
the farm house)The farm animals were impressive especially the Highland
Bull.
They do breakfasts in the farm house and they really set you up for
the day and I believe they are starting evening meals this year. A great
pity they closed in 2001 because of foot and mouth.We will be staying
there few days during the Hay festival in May(which is few miles away
from the farm).
Directions
From Rosgoch on B4594 turn up no through road and site is on left after
1 1/4 miles
Sent in by Sriyani from North Wales
Bryngloch,
Betws Garmon,
Caenarfon,
Gwynedd,
Wales.
LL54 7YY.
Tel: 01268-650216.
Website
It is on the A4085 4 miles south of Caenarfon.
This site is my favourite.
It has both camping and caravan facilities. You can even rent static
caravans.
For caravans it has both seasonal and non-seasonal pitches. It also
has electicity available around most if not all of the site now.
Apart from static caravans it is open all year round.
It also has good, especially clean, toilets showers and sinks, although
there may be a queue at busy times. The site also has washing up areas
too and a disabled bathroom/shower.
It has a shop which is open till around 8pm. It can be open until 10pm
on busy weekends. No traffic is allowed on site between 12:30am and
7am.
The wardens are welcoming and friendly and happy.
It has good views of Snowdon's nearby peaks and is surrounded by good
views in any direction you look, especially at dusk.
The fact Caenarfon is four miles away means easy access to Snowdonia
and Anglessey and other places of interest.
In a couple of years, you will be able to join the Welsh Highland railway
nearby, which will run through the start of the campsite. They are currently
working on constructing it through there but without disruption to the
site. So the views from the fields arent spoilt.
Nearest pub - 2 miles left out of the drive of the campsite. Chippy
- a couple of hundred yards more than the pub in Waunfawr.
Sent in by Robert J Holdcroft
Bagnol Caravan Site,
Ravenspoint Road,
Trearddur Bay,
Anglesey
We have just returned from a visit to Bagnol Caravan Site, Ravenspoint
Road, Trearddur Bay, Anglesey. The following summarises our totally
different finding on two separate visits to the site which should be
of use to other campers/caravanners.
Our first visit to Bagnol was on 6th/7th August 2005. I rang at the
last minute having found many other sites to be fully booked. I was
a little apprehensive as I was told to just turn up as there was plenty
of room. However, I was pleasantly surprised when I arrived as we found
a nice site which has recently undergone improvements, such as a new
shower block. The staff are very friendly and there are also a number
of nice sculptures around the site. We had a good weekend and although
the site is expensive we thought it was worth it for the extra space.
It appeared to be a good quality site. Some campers tend to use the
club house of Tyn Ross Camping and Caravanning Park, which is next
to the site. The site is also next to a motorbike scrambling area,
but the noise was minimal. You can walk to the beach from the site.
There is no shop, but you could use the shop on Tyn Ross for emergencies.
We therefore arranged to return for the August bank holiday weekend.
Again we were told to just turn up as there was plenty of room so we
expected it to be reasonably spacious as on the previous visit. Unfortunately,
this was not the case. We arrived at lunchtime and were shown to our
pitch by Albert. However, we appear to have been put in the late arrivals
area as people were still pitching tents at midnight. As they had just
arrived they then stayed up drinking etc until around 2.30 a.m. One
group in particular played music very loud. My husband spoke to the
staff and they were very helpful and told them to turn it off. Once
the staff had gone it was turned back on. Another member of staff eventually
made them turn it off. The next morning the staff were very good and
asked if the music had stayed off, they said they felt the site should
quieten down after 11 p.m. and to tell them if there were any further
problems. As we had young children including a two year old with us,
it was important they could be in bed at a reasonable time. The following
evening the same problem arose. I was also rather surprised when, having
been so helpful about the noise, Albert advised me that the caravanners
on the other side of us were having a party that night. It appeared
they were friends of his and therefore could do what they wanted, the
party went on until gone 4 a.m. Staff asked the other group to turn
the music off on three occasions. Eventually it was turned off around
11.45 p.m., but was back on at 12.45 a.m. Day and night there was also
constant foul language. A member of staff said that the answer would
be to call the police and have them removed from site, but as they
had been drinking this would not happen. The next day they discussed
telling them to leave, but did not. Instead we left, together with
a number of other campers.
Another camper complained strongly about her children being sworn at
by another group.
My brother-in-law went for a shower on the Sunday morning and found
excrement in the shower cubicle.
As a member of staff said, the site resembled `Glastonbury`. Every piece of grass had a tent, car or caravan on it, there were not grassed areas set aside for children to play so they ran riot around the tents and caravans.
We were very disappointed as we thought we had found a little known
gem of a site. It is now clear why this was the only site we could
find that was not fully booked.
It is a very nice site with very friendly staff, although people were
packed into every space available. Bearing in mind the cost (Trailer
tent including 2 adults £17.50 + £2.50 elec + £3
children 3-12 yrs + £4 children over 12 yrs and extra adults),
this seems unreasonable.
Unfortunately, despite the very friendly staff, there are no rules and no penalties for trouble makers. Although they do say that they are on a `learning curve`. If they introduce site rules and implement them then this would be a great site, but at the moment `anything goes`, which may appeal to some groups.
Worth a visit if you are going at a quiet time of year, although we will not be returning.
Sent in By Karen Walsh
}